Calvary McAllen

BUDGET PASSES

We had a great business meeting tonight. The turnout was the best in a long time. Thank you to all who came out to support the work of Calvary. There was a sweet Spirit that permeated the entire meeting. Everything that was decided, and especially the WAY it was decided, was evidence that God is at work at Calvary!!

We passed a budget that is a 5.1% increase over the 2006 budget. In hard dollars that comes to about a $97,000.00 increase. We will be short of this year's budget by aproximately $150,000.00 (give or take $10K). That means that we have voted for the church to attempt to bring in (as a goal) almost $250,000.00 more next year than we did this year. We CANNOT do that ... without God. We need to hit our knees early and stay on them long.  We need to emphasize the great things God is doing at Calvary and we need to call everyone to their BIBLICAL obligation to tithe to the Lord.

It's going to be a great year. God is going to honor our amazing and over-the-top faith goal of almost $2 million.

Tonight we also elected six new active deacons: Danny Drefke, Jack Cronkhite, Mary Moore, Jeff White, Joe Averill, David Cross, and John Booth.

The deacons do so many acts of service and ministry around the church and beyond ... too numerous to count. We are grateful for these who are willing to serve.

We also selected a Worship Pastor Search Committee. They are: Richard Vaughan, Jason Hatton, Danny Drefke, Patia Walker, and Ashley Stockel.  The first alernates are: Ruben Rojas and Lina Salinger.

We need to be praying for them as they begin the search for a new Worship Pastor.

It was a great night in which Calvary proved herself, again, to be a great Church!! We are blessed!!

blessings,

pastor ellis

TOP TEN

We are having a church business meeting this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. It will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Children's Building. This is an extremely important business meeting and I want to encourage every member of Calvary to be there.

We will be making some very imortant decisions, including:

1. Electing a Worshp Pastor Search Committee. This will be a committee of five Calvary members who will be given the task of finding a candidate to be our next Worship Pastor.

2. Voting on the 2007 Calvary Budget. This is our church goal for what we want God to do in us and through us next year. It is the document that pastors and leaders use as a guide to our spending.

3. Electing new deacons. These are key leaders and servant ministers in our church.

Now, for my TOP TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD GO TO THE BUSINESS MEETING:

10. The food and snacks ... They're always good.

9. See all your friends in one room.

8. Get an overview of all that the God is doing at Calvary.

7. Feel more connected to the work of the Church.

6. Find the answers to, "Why do we do it that way?"

5. Get to say, "I don't think we should do it that way." (You really can't say it if you've never been a part of the process).

4. Become even more interested in the work of God.

3. Hear the opinions of others in the church.

2. Experience God leading His Church.

1. YOU ARE THE CHURCH. We can't do it without you!

I hope to see you there ...

blessings,

pastor ellis

I'M HERE

Rumors can be pesky little things. I don't usually pay attention to them, because they have a way of quickly morphing into their kissing cousin: gossip ... and the Bible calls that "sin." But there's been a pesky little rumor going around that I feel needs to be addressed. The rumor is that I'm talking to another church, and thinking about leaving Calvary. The only reason I address it is because I have been asked by more than one person, and this time the rumor isn't dying.

It may have started because I have a "For Sale" sign on my front yard. It may have continued because someone mentioned to someone else that I was "moving." And once that information made three or four iterations, it became: "Ellis is moving from Calvary." The first two observations are true: I DO have a "For Sale" sign on my house. That's usually the best way to sell a house (get a realtor and put up a sign). And I AM moving, or rather have moved, from my old house to a new house (both are in McAllen). I still own both houses, by the way, in case anyone would like to buy my old one.

But let me say this as clearly as I know how: I AM NOT LEAVING CALVARY. I AM NOT SPEAKING TO ANY OTHER CHURCH. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN LEAVING MCALLEN.

I hope that was clear enough. This pesky little rumor rears its ugly head about twice a year. There may be those who are nervous because we have had a rash of pastors leaving over the last two years. Of course, there could be someone perpetuating the rumor hoping I take a hint (ha!ha! just kidding.) It could be that other churches ARE looking at me. If they are, I don't know about it, and I'm NOT looking at them.

Please understand what often happens is that churches get my name from others and I don't even know about it. When churches are looking for a pastor they call other pastors, seminary professors, and State Convention leaders to get names. I know many of these people. I have preached in front of them numerous times. There are a few Convention leaders, and professors who give my name to just about every larger church that calls them. Other churches around the state will call me on the average, about twice a month. I always tell them the same thing: NOT INTERESTED.

God led me to Calvary to accomplish certain things (for HIS honor and glory). I know exactly what they are, and none of them have been completely accomplished. So, I won't even talk to God about leaving -- He wouldn't listen to me anyway. On top of that, I have no desire to leave. Calvary is, without a doubt, one of the greatest churches in the state of Texas, and I feel humbled and honored (and totally unworthy) to be her pastor.

Anyway ... the next time you hear that pesky rumor ... do me a favor ... lift up your foot and squash it.

blessings,

pastor ellis

PROPOSED BUDGET

Here is a breakdown of the changes in the budget from 2006 to 2007. You will need Adobe Reader to download and read this file:

DOWNLOAD 2007 PROPOSED BUDGET HERE.

The Stewardship Committee has worked hard to keep the costs down for 2007. They cut in numerous areas in order to make room for rising costs that are beyond our control. The largest cost increase next year will be in the area of utilities and maintenance. With the wonderful new Children's Building we have an additional 30,000 square feet to maintain. That means more A/C and janitorial costs.  There are other areas that go up with rising costs in insurance, paper goods, and other materials. We have numerous yearly contracts on things like copiers, maintenance repairs, the elevator, and others that go up each year as well.

Thanks to all those who worked so hard, devoting many hours of their time, to create this budget proposal. Please make plans to attend the "Townhall Meeting" on November 5th at 5:30 p.m. to get more information and ask any questions you might have. Also, mark your calendars for the Business Meeting on November 12th at 6 p.m. to vote on the new budget.

God is going to do great and mighty things at Calvary in 2007!!

blessings,

pastor ellis

2007 BUDGET

“Just as you excel in every thing - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us all - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

-- 2 Corinthians 8:7

The Stewardship Committee has completed its work on the 2007 Calvary Budget. They've worked really hard this year, putting in a lot of hours in prayerful work. Added to that the pastoral staff, personnel committee, missions committee, and other ministry teams have done an excellent job in preparing their respective budgets. It all works together to create a challenging and God-sized budget goal for next year.

The proposed 2007 budget of $1,972,328.75 represents an overall increase of 5.17% over the 2006 budget.  In terms of dollars, that is a $97,017.50 increase.  The Calvary Baptist Church family has demonstrated incredible faithfulness in giving over the last several years.  More total money is being given these days to fund the ministries of our church and to pay for the new building than ever before. We have a lot to celebrate!

This proposed budget is challenging because it calls for giving significantly more than Calvary will collect this year.  In fact, at this point in time, we are about $180,000.00 behind what our current budget calls for. This means some ministries and some of the things God may be calling us to do are falling short of what they could be for lack of funding.  With all of the wonderful things happening through Calvary, what more could be done if giving were at fully budgeted levels? 

Our spending to date also exceeds our income to date, by about $70,000.00. That means the fund reserve we maintain in order to make sure the church never spends more than we have is decreasing. The Stewardship Committee and the leadership of our church are watching this very carefully.  If we remain that far behind to the end of the year, next year’s budget will be an even bigger challenge.  Which, of course, just gives God more room to work!

God is doing so many great things at Calvary. Our missions endeavors are expanding at an exponential rate.  People in our congregation are experiencing God’s call on their lives in new and exciting ways. New ministries are being formed each month. We now have six worship services each week. Each of these worshipping communities is touching new lives every week. There is a refreshing wind of God’s Spirit that is moving over our Church life. God is giving the leadership of our church a great vision for doing His work. I believe that God is challenging us as never before and I also believe that Calvary will meet that challenge.

Please prayerfully review this budget.  A budget discussion meeting is planned for Sunday, November 5 in the Multipurpose Room.  You will have the opportunity  to review the proposed budget in more detail and ask questions of those who worked so hard to compose it. Also, please make plans to attend the church business meeting on November 12 in the Multipurpose Room. That's when we'll vote on the new budget.

God is using Calvary to bring people into His kingdom and to impact the entire world, and our budget must keep up with this growth.  I pray that you will work hard in supporting what God is doing at Calvary!

blessings,

pastor ellis

TEAMWORK

Well, it finally happened. I have been your pastor for 6 years and 7 months, and this is the first Sunday I have ever missed due to illness. Thank you for your prayers. I am feeling better ... still a little weak ... but better. I think it's a 24 hour thing. I'll spare you the gory details. I look forward to being back in the office tomorrow and back in the pulpit next Sunday. I hope to see you even before then at the 4th of July Tailgate Party!

I do want to say thanks to our pastoral team. I hear it was an amazing Sunday. God always knows what he is doing. I called Pastor David Chan today at 6:30 in the morning (2 hours before my first sermon) to let him know that I wasn't going to make it. David sprung into action and organized an all-star list of preachers to cover for me. I also called Tom Gillespie to let him know. It's good to have such a seasoned Worship Pastor -- very little throws him off. Tom, David, Patrick, and Tom Weaver took care of all the little details that come up every Sunday.

Meanwhile, David was on the telephone organizing the team. Ingo Topheoven, pastor of Valley Fellowship Church (a church we helped to start), preached the 8 o'clock worship. Pastor Patrick Hamilton preached the 9:30 worship. Pastor Tom Weaver preached the 11 o'clock worship. Vidal Muniz, pastor of Journey Church (another church we helped to start), preached the 12:34 worship. What a great team!  What a blessing for Calvary!

A big thanks to David, Tom, Patrick, Ingo, Vidal, and Tom. A big thanks to all of you at Calvary for being the Church God wants you to be. We have a great team at Calvary. Please keep praying for my health and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday (July 4th)!!

blessings,

pastor ellis